Troughing idler assembly for low clearance installations



April 2, 1963 R. F. Lo PRESTI TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY FOR LOW CLEARANCE INSTALLATIONS Filed Sept. 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. flay]? LoPreszz' BY Parker 8; Carrier JZitofneys A ril 2, 1963 R. F. LO PRESTI 3,083,815

TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY FOR LOW CLEARANCE INSTALLATIONS Filed Sept. 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

April 2, 1963 R. F. LO PRESTI 3,083,315

TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY FOR LOW CLEARANCE INSTALLATIONS Filed Sept. 4, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENT OR.

BY J ar/rer 3' Carrier .flazorneys United States Patent 3,083,815 TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY FOR LOW CLEARANCE INSTALLATIONS Roy F. Lo Presti, Chicago, Ill, assignor to Goodman Manufacturing Company, Chicago, EL, a corporation of Illinois Filed Sept. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 838,206 9 Claims. (Cl. 193192) This invention relates generally to flexible strand conveyors and particularly to means for reducing fraying of the edges of the conveyor belt and for improving the safety of such conveyors.

Flexible strand conveyors of the type illustrated in the Craggs et al. Patent No. 2,773,257 are coming into widespread use due to their many inherent and desirable features including ruggedness, ease of assembly, accuracy of adjustment and low cost of installation, operation and initial investment. These conveyors usually include a pair of parallel, flexible strands, such as wire ropes or the like, trained along a course, such as a mine run, which are supported at spaced intervals by ground-engaging supports. The supports may be connected directly to the ground or to some other substantially rigid support structure and may be spaced at intervals varying from ten to thirty feet.

A plurality of roller assemblies are suspended from the generally parallel flexibie strands to form a bed for a flexible conveyor belt. These roller assemblies vary widely but a typical assembly may comprise a center primary load-carrying roller pivotally connected to a pair of flanking side or wing rollers. The .wing rollers in turn are generally connected to the flexible strands at their outer ends by clamps or other securing means. The return reach of the belt is trained across return roller assemblies which are usualy spaced somewhat further apart than the carrying roller assemblies.

In many applications, of which coal mining is a typical example, the conveyor system must be installed under low clearance conditions. In these applications the flexible strands are reefed very tight to prevent the carrying roller assembly from sagging or troughing downwardly so far as to interfere with the return reach of the conveyor belt.

Since the troughing movement in low-rope applications is somewhat more limited than the relative troughing movement of a roller assembly in an application in which clearance is no problem, the conveyed material occasinally dribbles over the edge of the belt. In the conventional setup in which a projection of the wing roller shaft would generally intersect the flexible strands, these spilled lumps may fray the edge of the belt if they are large enough to lodge between the belt edge and the strand. The movement of the belt tumbles the lumps along the trough formed by the belt edge and strand until the belt hits a strand or troughing roller assembly hanger. The repeated impacts of these lumps against the hangers may knock the roller assemblies out of position and set up detraining tendencies in the system.

A safety hazard common to nearly all flexible strand systems arises when the conveyors are used to take men into and out of the mine. At the start of the day theworkmen jump onto the belt and ride into the mine until they reach the working area. As they hop off, there is the possibility that they will catch their leg between the edge of the be t and the flexible strand.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide means for elevating a troughing roller assembly in a flexible conveyor system a substantial distance above the flexible strands to reduce the possibility of belt edge wear and reduce the hazard to workmen as they get on and off the belt.

Another object is to reduce the skewing of the troughing roller assemblies in a flexible strand conveyor system due to impact of spilled material against the hangers.

Yet another object is to decrease the safety hazard to workmen riding the belt by positioning: the flexible strands inwardly from their normal position.

A further object is to provide, in a low-rope application of a flexible strand conveyor system, a troughing roller or idler assembly which elevates the carrying rollers while maintaining the flexible strands above the center of gravity of the system.

Yet another object is to provide means for training the wing rollers of a flexible troughing roller assembly in the direction of belt travel while maintaining the flexible strands below the level of the wing rollers.

Other objects Will become apparent throughout the course of the following specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatical ly in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of a portion of a flexible strand conveyor system;

FIGURE 2 is a section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view with parts broken away taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevation with parts broken away taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of a portion of another embodiment of a troughing roller assembly;

FIGURE 6 is an elevation taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the training effect exerted on the conveying reach of a belt by the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is a partial view, with parts in section, of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 9 is a partial view, with parts in section, of another embodiment of the invention.

Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like parts throughout the following specification and drawings.

In FIGURES 1 and 2 a flexible strand conveyor is illustrated generally at It) resting on the ground 11, which may be the floor of a mine or the like. The conveyor includes a pair of flexible strands 12 and 13 carried. by support stands 14 and 15. A plurality of troughing roller assemblies 16 and 17 are suspended from the strands. The supporting structures, in this instance support stands, are located at spaced intervals along the mine run. In the coal mining industry a spacing of anywhere from ten to thirty feet is common. The conveying reach 18a of a flexible conveyor belt is trained across the troughing roller assemblies 16 and 17, and the return reach 18b is trained across a plurality of return roller assemblies 19 located at conveniently spaced intervals.

In FIGURE 2 the flexible troughing roller assembly 17 is shown in a substantially nonloaded condition. The assembly includes a center load-carrying roller 20 flanked by a pair of side or wing rollers 21 and 22;. The inner ends of the wing rollers are connected to the center roller by a frame assembly which also secures the outer ends of the wing rollers to the flexible strand. In this instance the frame assembly includes an elongated, generally rigid tension member 23 extending substantially the entire length of the wing rollers. A pair of upwardly extending plates 24 receive pivot pins 25, 26 which secure the inner ends of wing roller shafts 27 and the ends of center roller shaft 28 to the plates 24. In this instance the plates have been welded directly to the frame member 23, and both the center and wing roller shafts pivoted to the plates.

The outer end of frame member 23 terminates in a U- shaped saddle 30 which forms a seat for the flexible strands 12 and 13. Wedges 31 force the strands into snug engagement with the seats in the saddles.

A pair of upwardly extending arms 32, 33 are Welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the saddle members 30 and carry a pair of inwardly extending ears 34 at their upper ends. These ears in turn are pivotally connected as at 35, 36 to the outer ends of the wing roller shafts 27. Although the frame members 23 have been shown as terminating in the U-shaped saddles 30, it will be understood that the upwardly extending arms 32, 33 and frame members may be formed as a single unit, either integrally or separately, and the U-shaped saddle members welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto.

The angle formed by the arms 32, 33 with the elongated frame members 23 is such as to substantially elevate the ends of the wing rollers above the flexible strands. In this instance the arms have been crimped to further locate the strands inwardly with respect to the position they would normally assume if the elongated frame members extended outwardly a distance sufficient to prevent inward deflection of the strands.

Another embodiment in which the wing rollers are canted in a training direction with respect to the direction of belt travel is illustrated in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7.

In FIGURES and 6 a pair of plates 40 extend upwardly from the inner end of the elongated frame member 39. In this embodiment the ears are slightly crimped,

as seen best at 41 in FIGURE 5, to rigidly position the Wing rollers at a slight angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the center roller. An outer,- upwardly extending arm 42, which is crimped as at 43, is suitably welded to a U-shaped saddle member Which in turn is welded to the elongated frame member 39. Wedge 31 forces the strand 12 into snug engagement in the saddle member. Inwardly extending ears 34 are Welded to the inner face 45 of the arm 42 and extend perpendicularly inwardly. These ears are substantially parallel and in line with the outer or right halves of the plates 41 to thereby maintain the wing roller at an angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the center roller.

In FIGURE 7 the training effect exerted by the canted position of the wing rollers in FIGURES 5 and 6 is diagrammatically illustrated. In this figure the conveying reach of the belt 18a has been shown in phantom in an off-center position to the right, viewing the assembly from above. It is well known that a roller imparts a training effect to the belt in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the roller. Furthermore, the training eflect is dependent upon the amount of contact between belt and roller. As shown in FIGURE 7, a greater training effect will be exerted by the right wing roller 22 than the left wing roller 21 since the belt contacts a greater portion of the right wing roller. As a result, the belt will move back to a centered position until the training effect exerted by the right wing roller 22, diagrammatically represented by vector 46, is equal to and balances out the training effect exerted by left wing roller 21.

Additional embodiments in which the angle of inclination of the wing roller to the center roller is increased are illustrated in FIGURES 8 and 9. By increasing the angle in an unloaded condition, the transverse tension on the belt is considerably decreased when the belt runs loaded.

In FIGURE 8 elongated frame member 50 is connected to shafts 27 and 28 of wing roller 22 and center roller 20, respectively, by collar arms 51 and '52. The lower ends. of the arms are pivoted, as at 53 and 54, between vertical tabs 55 and secured to the shafts by collars 56 and 57. The outer end of frame member 50 is welded toa double seat strand clamp 58. Arm 32 carrying collar 59 which receives shaft 27 is likewise suitably secured to clamp 58.

' In FIGURE 9 elongated frame member 60 is connected by pivots 61 and 62 to the shafts 27 and 28 of wing roller 63 and center roller 64 by a pair of offset plates 65. Pivot 61 is located a substantial distance above pivot 62 to further increase the included angle between the wing and center rollers. It may be advantageous to utilize differential diameter rollers in this embodiment to offset the increased bending movements in the frame assembly.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4 the troughing roller assembly 17 is shown in a no load condition. As a .load approaches and passes over the assembly, the rollers 20, :21 and 22, which are serially interconnected by pivots and 26, flex with respect to each other in a vertical plane and the center roller 20 moves downwardly toward the return reach [18b of the conveyor belt. Since the frame assemblies 23, 24, 30, 32 and 34 are substantially rigid, abnormal flexing movement is prevented. In all conditions of flexure, however, the outer ends of the wing rollers are maintained a substantial distance above the level of the flexible strands 12 and 13 by the upwardly extending end members or arms 32. The possibility of lumps of coal falling off the conveyor belt and lodging between the flexible strands and the edges of the belt is thereby eliminated. There will be some divergence of the strand from the belt edge between the support stands and the adjacent roller assembly, but the difference in height will cause spilled coal to fall to the ground where it can be picked up.

In this application the length of the elongated members '23 is of such a nature that the flexible strands are pulled inwardly to a point substantially beneath the ends of the Wing roller shafts. When a man riding the conveyor Wishes to get off, he merely Waits until the belt takes him past a support stand 1 4 or 15 and rolls off at a point approximately at the mid-distance between adjacent stands. Since the strands are pulled underneath the rollers for at least that distance between adjacent roller assemblies '16 and 17, the possibility of a foot or an arm or parts of his clothing catching between the belt and strand in the process of rolling off, is materially reduced.

In this embodiment the U-shaped saddle members 30 have been shown as integrally formed with elongated frame members 23 but this is not essential. Also in this embodiment plates 24 at the inner ends of the elongated frame members have been shown as pivotally connected to each of the wing and center roller shafts. This is not essential in all applications, however, because of the elevation of the wing rollers and inward positioning of the strands is primarily dependent upon the structure of the frame assemblies. The roller shafts could be linked directly to one another and the elongated frame assembly run just to the inner ends of the wing roller shafts.

In FIGURES 5 through 7 a second embodiment is illustrated in which a training effect is imparted to the belt as it passes over the roller assembly. The right half of plates 40 in FIGURES 5 and 6 have been canted so that the axis of the wing roller shaft makes a slight angle with the axis of the center roller shaft. The outer, upwardly extending member 42 is aligned with the right half of the plates to prevent binding of the shaft. As a result, the wing'rollers are oriented in a downstream position, as seen in FIGURE 7, and the training effect of the wing rollers, as exemplified by arrow 46, is exerted in a'training direction. Since the amount of training will be dependent upon the amount of contact between belt and roller, any misalignment of the belt will automatically be corrected because of the unbalanced retraining effects exerted by the Wing rollers. v

In the embodiment of FIGURE 8 the included angle between the wing andcenter roller is increased by procluded angle the tension on the belt due to the troughing of the roller assembly under load is considerably reduced as compared to the structure of FIGURES 2 and 6.

The included angle is even further increased in the embodiment of FIGURE 9 by vertically offsetting the pivot points 61 and 62 on plates 65. It may be advantageous, though not essential, to use differential diameter rollers so as to keep the bending moments in the frame assembly to a minimum. Rollers 63 and 64- may be, for example, on the order of 2 /2" and respectively, as compared to approximately the 3 /2 to 4" roller of FIGURES 2, 6 and 8. This embodiment has the advantage of a one piece end frame construction.

Although the structure of the invention is particularly applicable to a low clearance installation, because it is in this type of installation in which limited troughing movement and consequently greater tendencies to spill the load most easily occurs, it is not limited to such an environment. The reduction in belt edge fraying and im provement in safety is equally important in installations in which clearance is no problem, and the invention is equally applicable to such installations.

Although various embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, the above description is intended to be illustrative only and not definitive. Therefore the scope of the invention should not be limited except by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A troughing idler assembly for a flexible strand conveyor of the type in which a pair of flexible strands are trained in generally parallel relationship to one another along a conveying course, said troughing idler assembly including, in combination,

at least one intermediate roller flanked by a pair of wing rollers,

a pair of frame structures, each frame structure supporting one of the wing rollers in a position in which the end of the wing roller is elevated a substantial distance above its associated flexible strand, whereby the flexible strands are pulled inwardly from their normal position until they are generally vertically aligned with the outer ends of the wing rollers thereabove for a substantial portion of the distance between adjacent flexible strand supporting structures,

each frame structure including means for connecting the inner end of its associated wing roller to the inner end of the frame structure,

means for connecting the inner end of each frame structure to an adjacent end of an intermediate roller,

each frame structure having a wing roller supporting member extending upwardly a substantial distance from the outer end of the frame structure,

the outer end of each wing roller being connected to an associated upwardly extending supporting memher,

the connections between the inner and outer ends of each wing roller to its associated frame structure being constructed and arranged to enable the wing roller to flex in a generally vertical plane with respect to the intermediate roller, and,

a pair of strand connectors, one strand connector being secured to each frame structure at a position generally vertically aligned with the outer end of an associated wing roller supported thereabove,

whereby each flexible strand, when connected to an associated end of the troughing idler assembly, generally underlies the outer end of a wing roller thereabove.

2. The troughing idler assembly of claim 1 further characterized in that the inner ends of the wing rollers are connected to the frame structure by an inner Wing roller supporting member which projects upwardly from the frame structure,

and further characterized in that the intermediate roller is flexibly connected to the inner upwardly extending wing roller supporting members.

3. The troughing idler assembly of claim 2 further characterized in that the wing rollers are connected to the inner generally upwardly extending wing roller supporting members at a belt training angle with respect to the direction of belt travel.

4. The troughing idler assembly of claim 1 further characterized in that the inner end of each wing roller is connected to its associated supporting frame structure by an inner wing roller supporting member which is pivoted to, and projects generally upwardly from said associated frame structure, and further characterized in that the intermediate roller is flexibly connected to an adjacent frame structure by a generally upwardly extending member pivotally connected to the frame structure and the intermediate roller.

5. The troughing idler assembly of claim 4 further characterized in that the outer end of each of the Wing rollers is non-flexibly connected to its associated outer generally upwardly extending wing roller supporting member.

6. The troughing idler assembly of claim 2 further characterized in that the Wing rollers are pivotally connected to the inner, generally upwardly extending wing roller supporting members at locations vertically offset from the points of connection of the intermediate roller thereto.

7. The troughing idler assembly of claim 6 further characterized in that the wing rollers are of a substantially smaller diameter than the intermediate roller.

8. The troughing idler assembly of claim 2 further characterized in that the pivotal connections of the wing and intermediate rollers to the inner, generally upwardly extending wing roller supporting members lie in a generally horizontal plane.

9. The troughing idler assembly of claim 1 further characterized in that the strand connectors are integral with and form a portion of the wing roller supporting frames.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,353,008 Wray Sept. 14, 1920 2,747,726 Robins May 29, 1956 2,850,146 Madeira Sept. 2, 1958 2,851,151 McCallum Sept. 9, 1958 2,868,355 McCann Ian. 13, 1959 2,896,774 Long et al. July 28, 1959 2,904,166 Stinson Sept. 15, 1959 

1. A TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY FOR A FLEXIBLE STRAND CONVEYOR OF THE TYPE IN WHICH A PAIR OF FLEXIBLE STRANDS ARE TRAINED IN GENERALLY PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP TO ONE ANOTHER ALONG A CONVEYING COURSE, SAID TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY INCLUDING, IN COMBINATION, AT LEAST ONE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER FLANKED BY A PAIR OF WING ROLLERS, A PAIR OF FRAME STRUCTURES, EACH FRAME STRUCTURE SUPPORTING ONE OF THE WING ROLLERS IN A POSITION IN WHICH THE END OF THE WING ROLLER IS ELEVATED A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE ABOVE ITS ASSOCIATED FLEXIBLE STRAND, WHEREBY THE FLEXIBLE STRANDS ARE PULLED INWARDLY FROM THEIR NORMAL POSITION UNTIL THEY ARE GENERALLY VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE OUTER ENDS OF THE WING ROLLERS THEREABOVE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE DISTANCE BETWEEN ADJACENT FLEXIBLE STRAND SUPPORTING STRUCTURES, EACH FRAME STRUCTURE INCLUDING MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE INNER END OF ITS ASSOCIATED WING ROLLER TO THE INNER END OF THE FRAME STRUCTURE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE INNER END OF EACH FRAME STRUCTURE TO AN ADJACENT END OF AN INTERMEDIATE ROLLER, EACH FRAME STRUCTURE HAVING A WING ROLLER SUPPORTING MEMBER EXTENDING UPWARDLY A SUBSTANTIAL DISTANCE FROM THE OUTER END OF THE FRAME STRUCTURE, THE OUTER END OF EACH WING ROLLER BEING CONNECTED TO AN ASSOCIATED UPWARDLY EXTENDING SUPPORTING MEMBER, THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE INNER AND OUTER ENDS OF EACH WING ROLLER TO ITS ASSOCIATED FRAME STRUCTURE BEING CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED TO ENABLE THE WING ROLLER TO FLEX IN A GENERALLY VERTICAL PLANE WITH RESPECT TO THE INTERMEDIATE ROLLER, AND, A PAIR OF STRAND CONNECTORS, ONE STRAND CONNECTOR BEING SECURED TO EACH FRAME STRUCTURE AT A POSITION GENERALLY VERTICALLY ALIGNED WITH THE OUTER END OF AN ASSOCIATED WING ROLLER SUPPORTED THEREABOVE, WHEREBY EACH FLEXIBLE STRAND, WHEN CONNECTED TO AN ASSOCIATED END OF THE TROUGHING IDLER ASSEMBLY, GENERALLY UNDERLIES THE OUTER END OF A WING ROLLER THEREABOVE. 